24 Hours

Shichan Goddess

Hour 14: Hour of Words

"Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts." ~Robert Fulghum (1937—)

James whimpered, a strangled mew that tore Lily's heart, her chest and throat tight as she attempted to dress his wounds. Blackish water had been provided for them, and Lily's throat was parched, but she dared not drink the foul looking water. She would have preferred not to touch it at all, but in this matter, she had little choice.

She could risk infection by using the water.

Or she could guarantee infection by not using it.

She chose to risk it, and prayed to Merlin that she had not made a horrible mistake. Sweat covered his brow, and Lily gently dipped a strip of cloth in the water and laid it across his forehead. He was lost in the clutches of a nightmare, much as she had been, but she dared not to wake him, leaving him to his much needed healing slumber.

She murmured soothing words as she bandaged and re-bandaged the many wounds he had sustained. Her fury was smoldering inside of her slowly, but she did not grant it leave to the surface. She glanced down to his face once again, and was surprised to see dull amber squinting up at her.

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Sirius peeked into the darkened room and quickly closed the door. He turned to the figure that was leaning against the wall, and said quietly, "Pete's asleep."

"It must be the after-effects of the Cruciatus. Do you think that he'd want us to wake him up?"

Sirius smiled fondly, but shook his head. "Pete's always doing things like that, bumbling in, and trying to help every way he can. I'm know that he really is worried about James, and wants to be involved in the search party, but still…"

Remus smiled at him. "Yes, of course. Peter's still under the curse's effects, and we cannot lose valuable time. I believe that the search party is nearly ready. Shall we go?"

"Yes. We'll let Peter rest."

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James groaned inwardly, hissing as he moved his head to stare at the vision before him. A ruby-haired vixen was above him, and he blinked, automatically reaching for his glasses. He fumbled only with empty air however, and it was then he realized she was speaking—the angel was speaking, but he could not comprehend the words at first.

"James," The beauty was speaking, and after every second ticked by, her voice got clearer and more defined. "James, please, wake up a bit…just a little bit more…"

'Lily' He realized numbly. Honestly, what did she want him to wake up for? Did she want to torture him? Well, that was a stupid question, of course she did. Because staying awake made him notice all the aches that burned his body and it hurt. It hurt like hell. No, hell had nothing on this. Every nerve was on fire. His body betrayed him, and he let loose a low gasp.

"Easy, easy now, Potter. Don't do anything stupid. Don't move."

James snorted. "And where exactly would I go? Oh look, there's a nice patch of dirt. I think I'll just drag myself over there and lie on that instead."

Lily sighed, but it was more that of relief than true irritation. His wisecracks were something she craved, something that gave her stability when her world was topsy-turvy. "Shut it, Potter, you know what I mean."

"Oh yes, I have an incredible ability to read minds, you see. That's what made me so popular with the ladies."

Lily snorted as she bandaged another wound, rather angry at the mention of his past exploits. "What ladies?"

"Come, come, now, Lily. My charm was extremely well-known throughout the school." The proudly uttered words were a jest, but Lily did not catch them.

"Charm? What charm?" Lily gave a discriminating laugh, "You were just a git with an over-inflated head, thinking that you were better than everyone else. You strut around like a peacock just because you happened to play Quidditch!"

Thick silence hung over the air, and James stared up at the ceiling. Quietly, oh so quietly, he uttered, "Is that what you really think of me?"

"Yes!"

James sighed, closing his eyes, and muttered, "I had hoped…" He trailed off and turned to his side, his back towards the witch who was staring hard at the ground.

"Hoped what?" Lily ventured softly.

"That we could have been friends…I…I rather foolishly believed that we could after the conversation we had before…"

"James…" Lily started, regretting her words deeply, and she reached out to touch his shoulder. He gave a slightly bitter laugh and she flinched, her hand dropping to her lap once more.

"Nothing but a fool's dream, I suppose."

"James—"

He cut her off with a weary sigh as he closed his pained eyes. "I'm tired now, Evans."

Lily stopped as she stared at his back, and silently withdrew to the shadows of the room. James exhaled as she left, the flashes of lightening lighting up the cell in brief moments, and the thunder and pounding of the rain slowly lulled him to sleep.

'I changed, Lily,' He thought desperately, at the brink of sleep once more. 'That's what war does to you…I've finally grown up. Why are you the only one who doesn't realize that?'

A/N: You guys rock! I mean, you really, really, really, REALLY rock! You guys pushed me past 400 reviews! WOW! *Faints in shock* Now, I would have made this chapter longer, but I have to get up early tomorrow morning, and this emotional scene with James and Lily took a lot out of me. So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please continue to review!